"Without trust, we have nothing."
These are the words which have haunted Melanie Erickson for six years. When she walked out of the house Xavier Ross bought as their forever home, she thought she was closing that door permanently, but fate had other plans.
Xavier Ross tried to keep everyone at a distance until Melanie came into his life. The more he tried to fight his feelings for her, the more he fell in love. One rash decision fractured the trust that was essential to their relationship.
Six years later, she is the last person he expects to see walk through his front door. Will Xavier and Mel be able to learn to trust one another again so they can fulfill a dying woman’s wish?
ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
It is a fine line between love and hate, and Melanie and Xavier are toeing that line.
After
an argument, Melanie and Xavier who are planning their "together
forever", split up a with miscommunications and misunderstandings, seem
to be separated forever.
6 years down the track, their lives come back together through the illness of Xavier's wife.
Alyssa
Ross has had to live up to "the one that got away and broke his heart"
since she first met Xavier. Even on her death bed, she can feel the
tension between Melanie and Xavier, and it does not take much for her to
realise who Melanie is, as hard as Melanie and Xavier try to hide it
from her (not in a bad way though).
The
emotions flow off the page in Fragile Bonds. The love, the hate, the
sadness, the confusion. It is the first time that I have read a book
with this kind of storyline, and I may have shed a tear or two as I was
reading.
It is a story about love and loss, forgiveness and redemption, second chances.
As
sad as the base story line is, the love between Xavier and Melanie is
one that cannot be stopped. After all the years apart, the bad feelings
between them, they have always loved each other.
As
we learn more about Xavier and Alyssa, I really didn't like him for a
while. He was such an asshole to her for no other reason than that she
was not Melanie. I know why she stuck with him, but how she didn't
throttle him, or at least walk away I don't know.
Jacob
is the reason she hung around, and he really is a scene stealer. He
made me laugh, he made me cry. So many things for a 4 year old boy
trying to understand about his dying mother.
I
did like the changes we see in Xavier. He goes from standoffish with
his son to his son being his entire world. I also loved the attachment
that forms between Melanie and Jacob.
We
get the back story as to why Xavier and Melanie originally broke up.
That was pretty devastating when we get to the heart of it.
I
loved that Melanie and Xavier didn't just jump right back into their
relationship. Even though his wife knew that he always loved her, I
would have been disappointed if they had just fallen back right in where
they had left off. Watching both Xavier and Melanie deal with the
guilt they feel, how they feel they are betraying Alyssa by moving
forward.
There
are some pretty great secondary characters in Fragile Bonds. Melanie's
"gay husband" Tyler is great. No matter what his feelings are about
Xavier, he is all for Melanie finding happiness. Xavier's brother
Braydon I wanted to strangle at the beginning but that didn't last long.
And
then there is Melanie's best friend Stacey. There are no words for
what I feel for her ~~ and what i felt for her was nothing good! I am
not a violent person, but this one person made me want to hurt them! You
will have to read to find out why I despised her so, but you will know
when you get to it!
While
there are hints of light BDSM through the back story, that is not what
Fragile Bonds is about. It is about ordinary people dealing with
extraordinary loss. It is about mending broken hearts. It is about
earning back trust.
I
dare you not to shed a tear or two whilst reading Fragile Bonds.
Whether tears of sadness or tear of happiness, I am sure you will feel
the urge to cry at some stage.
Sloan is a Midwestern mom who began writing nearly seven years
ago as a way to make money while staying home with her daughter. Now, with two
kids in tow and having written more articles on how to assemble various pieces
of furniture than she can count, she is reaching to make her dreams come true.
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